Bashaud Breeland signs for less than $1 million with Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers signed away the best free agent defender on the open market in cornerback Bashaud Breeland for less than $1 million.

At this point we’ve lost count of visits. Maybe it was number nine or ten? Whatever the folks at Green Bay had up their sleeve, it worked. Bashaud Breeland is now a member of an NFL roster. For the uninitiated, let’s run back before we roll forward real fast.

The last time Bashaud Breeland was a member of an NFL roster, he was being signed by the Carolina Panthers to a major three-year deal worth $24 million early in free agency. He was a nice prize to land, a young above average starting cornerback who had finally hit the big payday after serving out his rookie contract with the Washington Redskins.

Then as quickly as the rumors came that he’d signed, the Panthers pulled the deal. When undergoing a physical, Breeland’s foot had become infected from a cut he suffered to it while on vacation after the NFL season in the Dominican Republic. Suddenly the Panthers needed a new corner and Breeland was, once again, a free agent. Ross Cockrell fit the Panthers’ bill, and Breeland went searching for new money—again.

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Fast forward several months until late in the NFL preseason. Breeland begins taking a slew of free agent visits all in a short time span, which leads to guesses that his foot has finally healed. Makes sense. He visits the Oakland Raiders and nothing comes of it, not even some real contract rumors. Then he hits K.C. next to hang out with the Chiefs, and he ends up spending two days in camp. He’s joking with potential teammates, meeting and smiling at the coaches, talks business with the front office. He stays overnight. It seems like something was happening.

On the Chiefs side, it made total sense. The team had serious needs in the secondary. David Amerson was already looking suspect as a low-risk signing from earlier in the offseason. Prospects were clearly not ready. Kendall Fuller and Steven Nelson were present, but the Chiefs pass defense had been a problem area even before the team traded Marcus Peters.

Breeland seemed the perfect signing at the right time. Then he left town. He went on to visit the Indianapolis Colts and the Cleveland Browns. Nothing there as well. The New York Jets say they are interested, but he never takes a visit. The Baltimore Ravens, on the other hand, want a closer look, and Breeland immediately goes for a workout. The New England Patriots come later, as do the Miami Dolphins.

At this point, there are almost as many teams who have worked out Breeland this offseason than those who have not. When the Green Bay Packers called just a couple days ago, it created nothing more than a shrug because, at this point, it’s been a case of crying wolf each time. Three weeks into the season and no team had yet signed Breeland. However, now a team had struck gold.

All this time, the questions arose as to what was wrong with Breeland. Was he healthy? Did he want a lot of money? Was he looking to recoup what he had in Carolina in terms of both finances and security? Did he want to play for a contender or have a chance to start? Were teams bringing him in and not liking what they saw?

There are still some questions out there, but the Packers made something clear with their official signing of Breeland. The final terms? An insanely cheap $790K (plus another $90K in bonus money).

Imagine this: a 26-year-old starting cornerback with 58 starts in the last four years with 59 passes defended in those games and 8 interceptions available for less than $1 million. Even teams with certified starters could have added another potential starter for so little. How does he not sign? Was he not fully healthy until now?

How do the Chiefs pass this up? Breeland is making less money than James Winchester, the team’s long snapper. Hell, the Chiefs have dead cap money of almost that exact same amount for Jah Reid. It’s a total head-scratcher. A team with very, very real Super Bowl aspirations, financial considerations and a serious need for depth and talent in the secondary did not make a less-than-a-million bid for Bashaud Breeland? Something smells here.

Maybe the Packers were Breeland’s favorite team all along. Maybe the Packers got tricked here because an infected foot will ruin Breeland’s season. Maybe the cornerback made fun of Brett Veach’s extended family. There’s so much here we cannot know.

But on the surface: Bashaud Breeland was/is the NFL’s biggest bargain at this stage of the game. It’s too bad the Chiefs didn’t take it.

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